This invention relates to an apparatus for mounting a winch to a vehicle or stationary object and in particular to an apparatus which enables the winch to wind the cable neatly on the reel and prevent the cable from bunching or binding.
Winches have been in common use for moving objects and vehicles for many years. In the typical application, one end of a long wire rope is securely attached to a stationary object while the other end is wound around the drum of a winch. In this manner, a winch is used to move a large object, for example, hoist a piano into a third story window or free a motor vehicle stuck in the mud. One will appreciate that the winch can just as likely be secured to the stationary object and the cable securely attached to the object to be moved.
The winch typically includes a high torque motor for rotating the drum. This motor can be for example, an electric motor with high torque gear reduction or a hydraulic motor. A brake or clutch can be provided to prevent unwanted slippage of the drum and to avoid damaging the motor. The drum and motor are fitted into a housing as a single unit which generally seals the internal gears and bearings from harmful elements. When the drum turns, the cable winds onto the drum and creates tension in the cable. As long as the cable is fed perpendicular to the rotational axis of the drum, the cable will generally wind evenly on the drum. However, it is more common that the cable is not fed perpendicular to the rotational axis of the drum and this causes the cable to migrate toward one side of the drum and wind itself only on that side of the drum. Consequently, the cable winds over itself, it jams (and possibly becomes damaged), whereby the cable must be unjammed and manually guided onto the drum evenly. The process may be repeated several times before the cable is completely wound on the drum. This method is not only time consuming and annoying, but also may significantly reduce the life of the cable. In addition, there is always the danger that the cable will break or become significantly weakened unknowingly.
These problems can be significant in off-road use. An off-road vehicle stuck on the side of an incline presents a precarious problem. If the cable begins to jam or bind, the winch has to stopped and the cable unjammed and wound evenly on the drum. The situation is inherently dangerous when there exists no means to secure the position of the vehicle. The winch cannot be released because the vehicle will roll back down the incline. In addition, the weight of the vehicle can make it very difficult and even impossible for the cable to be unjammed.
Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide an improved winch mounting apparatus.
It is another object of the invention to provide an improved winch mounting system which avoids bunching, binding or jamming of the cable on the drum.
It is yet another object of the invention to provide an improved winch mounting system which enables the cable to wind neatly around the drum.
It is still another object of the invention to provide an improved winch mounting system which enable the cable to wind neatly around the drum, irrespective of the angle the cable is fed to the winch.